Living the Legacy
by Phoenixian
Summary: Just because there are no evil wizards to conquer or wars to fight doesn't make life simple, and neither does being a Potter. James, Albus, and Lily Potter learn to navigate their peculiar lives and try to live up to their name in their own unique ways.
1. Chapter 1: Being a Potter

They see me and they stare. I suppose it's something they just can't help, something that I would do myself if the roles were reversed, and sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be normal, completely unremarkable, passed by unnoticed on the street and judged for your own merits and accomplishments rather than your fathers. You see, they all expect me to be just like him, but I'm not. I may have his hair and his nose and his smile, but appearance doesn't make you who you are, just ask Teddy. I am not Harry, and I could never be him either so I simply never try. I am nothing like him. Harry, my dad, he runs on love, and they say it's a great thing and that he is I great man and I know that they are all right, but the truth about me is I have a completely different operating system, I play a different game, and people see me and wonder, but they are not the only ones. I have questions too, about my life, about my namesake, things that were not often talked about when I was young. My mother used to tell me that they want me to be whoever I am and I told her that I was born a Potter, that that name will follow me for the rest of my life, unremarkable or not. So what does that mean for me? And for my brother and sister? What does it mean to be a Potter when there is no evil to fight and no darkness to destroy?


	2. Chapter 2: Quidditch

I drift pointedly back and forth in front of my goalposts, eyes narrowed against the bright sunlight, the roars of the spectators rolling over me as Lorcan manages to get the Quaffle past the opposing seeker, scoring his first goal as a Gryffindor chaser and pulling us further into the lead.

" Scamander scores, and that's seventy-forty to Gryffindor!" Roxanne's voice is magically magnified, booming out from the announcers booth, and yet I can barely make out her words over the pandemonium in the stands. I catch sight of my brother as he circles over them, eyes peeled for the snitch, and watch him spin skillfully out of the way as a bludger comes hurtling towards him. Hugo appears as though out of nowhere, club in hand, and sends it flying back towards it's originator in the same moment as I'm blocking an attempt at goal by Owen Chambers. I catch the Quaffle and throw it to Peyton, but she fumbles the catch and Owen manages to repossess it, arcing over her for another chance to get the ball past me, but I'm not the only one there to stop him.

"And Wood nearly knocks Chambers off his broom with a well aimed bludger, looks like she might have done some real damage there and Chambers drops the Quaffle, Thomas catches it and it's Gryffindor in possession! Come on Peyton!"

I turn back towards the pitch at large as the play continues. Ellie is spinning her beaters bat over her head, drawing on the crowds excitement. Chambers is headed for the ground and it looks like the other team will be short a chaser until he gets patched up.

"Thomas passes to Weasley and she's headed for goal people. She shoots... and a very impressive save by Abbott!"

The stadium is suddenly on their feet for reasons unrelated to Rose's miss. Hundreds of eyes are on Lucy, who has suddenly shot upwards, clearly having seen the snitch, and the rest of the play goes unnoticed by it's audience as Albus pelts after her, flat to his broom handle, closing the distance between them, but it's over as soon as it began, and whatever it was that Lucy saw is gone, snitch or not, and the crowd lets out their collective breath, but now Albus and Lucy are marking each other much more closely as the game intensifies.

"Gryffindor back in possession" Roxanne is shouting now to be heard. "Ooh, and Burke gets the Quaffle for Ravenclaw and she's going for it!"

And now it's my turn again. I'm facing off against Kylie Burke as she streaks down the pitch and it's as though everyone and everything else is gone, and in that moment all the sounds and chaos are blocked from my mind as I watch the approaching chaser. I can tell just by looking at her that she'll be aiming high for the middle and I move to block her attempt, but at the very last minute as the ball leaves her hand her strategy changes and she drops it instead. I don't have the time to consider my next move as Scorpius catches the Quaffle and puts it through the left hoop, my last second attempt at a save falling just short. Groans rise from my team mates and the Gryffindors in the stands.

"And Ravenclaw scores, new Ravenclaw captain pulls off a surprise goal on Potter, bringing us to seventy-fifty!"

"Better luck next time!" Scorpius calls to me gleefully as I throw the Quaffle to Lorcan, putting the game back in play.

"Don't be flying your victory laps just yet, Malfoy!" I shout after him as he takes off down the pitch.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, no, Ravenclaw in possession, no, Gryffindor- Ravenclaw- Gryffindor back in possession and Gryffindor... SCORES! Eighty to fifty for Gryffindor!"

Moments later, Hugo pelts a bludger at Scorpius, knocking the Quaffle from his hands. Rose seizes it and puts it through the Ravenclaw goal. Ninety-fifty.

Aiden Abbott chucks the ball to Owen Chambers who is back in the game and eager to make up for his time out, shooting up the pitch towards me. I refuse to make the same mistake twice and manage to knock it away with my foot even as Eric Cattermole sends a bludger at me that I narrowly avoid by ducking my head.

And just as the game is really starting to heat up I catch sight of the snitch hovering mockingly in the air just feet in front of me. It's there for only a split second and then it's gone but I'm not the only one to see it. Albus, who is flying circles high above the other players throws himself into a dive, and shoots past me so fast that I might have gone spinning if I wasn't prepared for it.

He pulls out of his dive and I think he might have caught the snitch but it seems he is still chasing it, shooting off towards the other end of the pitch, him and his Nimbus 3004 little more than a blur as they head straight for Lucy who is shooting towards the snitch from the other direction just as it is shooting towards her, and It seems likely that my cousin will manage to catch it first, but she swerves early to avoid colliding with Al who pulls his broom to a halt so quickly that he nearly doesn't stay seated, but he rights himself, then raises his hand in the air triumphantly, and I am speeding towards him as the crowd catches on to what has happened and Madam Hooch blows her whistle, and Roxanne is cursing happily over the shouts and cheers that rise as my team mates collide in midair and Rose squeezes the breath from my lungs and I'm hugging my brother and Lorcan and were all doing the mandatory victory lap over the stands as the crowd spills from their seats.

"Thanks for coming. I'm Roxy and I'll be here all week!" I hear as I hit the ground and the announcer's booth falls silent.


	3. Chapter 3: Day in the life

I skid into greenhouse three with an apology already plastered on my face, earning one of Neville(Professor Longbottom)'s looks as he gestures for me to join my friends in front of the venomous tentacula. He doesn't tend to bother with excuses which is probably good as mine are rarely legitimate.

I slide in next to Hugo who grins at me widely.

"Remember last night when I said I was going to bed?" he asks me.

"Didn't happen, huh."

"No, it did, just not in my bed, and not alone. I had to go to the bathroom and-"

I hold up a hand, "Please don't elaborate." I tell him.

"Alright, I'll leave it up to your imagination then." Now of course I can't help but picture it, and I give Hugo a punch in the arm as retribution, cursing, but of course this does nothing to discourage him.

"Am I really the only person you can talk to about this?" I ask as he continues, gesturing to his dorm mates who are spread out in teams around the greenhouse. He looks at me and wiggles his eyebrows.

"You know I ask you questions in the hope of getting an actual response" I inform him.

"I feel I convey more with a look."

I manage to extract one of the tentacula seeds as Hugo distracts it's vines to save me from being strangled.

"So who was it?" I ask finally, unable to resist.

"Summer Thomas. Room of requirements. And she certainly filled my requirements, if you know what I mean."

"Unfortunately I always know what you mean" I say with a sigh. "Peyton's going to hurt you" I add lightly with relish.

Hugo opens his mouth to reply, then closes it again, standing in front of me in an unlikely pose with a foolish look on his face.

"Hey" I say, using my wand to fight back the tentacula vine that takes the opportunity to snake around his bare arm. He breaks out of his stupor and looks at me. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Did it hurt a lot?" I ask him.

"I was just thinking" he repeats, "Maybe you could talk to Peyton, make her see that it's not a big deal, you know, before Summer tells her what happened." He looks pleadingly at me with wide brown eyes.

"Hmm, let me check my personality" I say, holding a dramatically thoughtful pose for a long moment. "Oh wait, I would never do that, sorry. You're alone on this one."

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw third years hurry past us from their care of magical creatures class as we make our way back up to the castle just in time for an early dinner, but Lorcan and Lysander fall into step with us as we reach the castle, both of them with noses buried in their copies of fantastic beasts and where to find them, and I'm wondering if they aren't both still looking for some mention of a crumple horned snorkack or wrackspurt, but Hugo distracts them immediately with an update on his night.

"You really had to sleep with Summer?" I ask him sarcastically, catching sight of her sister through the front doors, which have been thrown wide to take advantage of the warm evening. "You couldn't have just...I don't know...not?"

"You can't organize an ostrich race with just one Ostrich" Lysander informs me knowledgeably, returning to his book. I exchange a confused glance with Hugo as the twins move away. We might be used to their peculiarities but that doesn't mean we understand half of what they say.

As we enter the great hall Hugo slides off in Summer's direction, glancing from side to side in a suspicious manner, and leaving me to join Mateo, Roxanne and Rose at the Gryffindor table.

Scorpius appears as we sit down and slides into the seat next to me with a self satisfied look on his face.

"What?" I ask him, but he just grins and shakes his head.

"Why is everyone around here so damn happy?" I ask grumpily which of course just makes him laugh as he brushes his blond hair from his eyes and pulls a plate of desserts towards him.

"Hogsmeade weekend, right?" I guess. "Excited to stock up on dung bombs and Wild Fire Wizbangs, are you?"

Scorpius' grin widens. "You telling me you aren't?" he asks, knowing me all too well. I ignore this.

"You are going to be there right?" he asks."It's probably the last nice weekend were going to get."

"Albus and I are meeting James in the vill-"

I break off as Albus himself drops into the seat between Roxanne and I, slightly out of breath.

"Listen, Scor" he pants, talking over me to Scorpius. "I need a favor. See, Natalia is at Quidditch practice right now, and I'm supposed to meet her in the great hall afterwards but I have detention in five minutes" he says without taking so much as a breath. "So if she shows up before I do I need you to keep her there. She'll kill me if I miss another date, especially cause I'm not taking her to the village this weekend. Please, mate."

"You want me to entertain your girlfriend for you?" Scorpius asks slowly, earning a frantic nod. "Now, tell me James, will she expect sex from me?" he asks innocently.

"No" James answers seriously, " And this part is very important; do not expect sex from her."

"Got it. No sex."

"Just entertain her somehow, for maybe a half hour" he says, glancing at his watch and already rising to leave.

"Oh, ok, maybe magic tricks or impressions then?" Scorpius says with a perfectly straight face.

"Do you know any magic tricks?"

"Not the kind you're thinking of."

"Can you do any impressions?"

"I sure can't."

"Just keep her here" James snaps in frustration, not impressed with his friend's mockery. He glances at his watch again, then takes off out of the hall, leaving us all to burst out laughing.

As Scorpius moves off Ailey drops into his vacated seat with a scowl on her face and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who isn't perfectly cheerful.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, picking raisins from a pastry to render it edible.

"Edling" she tells me, glaring up at the staff table where the Ancient Runes professor is deep in conversation with Professor Sinistra.

"Ya, he's a weird guy" I agree rather indifferently. Ailey draws her bag onto her lap and extracts a pile of large books which she slams onto the table, making a number of nearby students jump.

"Well he's driving me nuts. Also, I have way too much studying to do for the bloody History of Magic exam coming up and it's all so bloody fascinating that I don't know where to start" she adds with a rather aggressive sarcasm.

"Who needs to study?" I say with a grin. "Just remember everything Binns says, that's all."

"Easy for you to say" she mutters under her breath as she opens the large History of Magic textbook and stares down at a random page.

"You know you actually have to read it" I tell her, but when her attempt at studying doesn't entertain me I force her book closed. "So how are things going with Owen?" I ask instead, catching sight of Scorpius' fellow chaser at the next table, but this topic does little to cheer her up.

"Their not" she tells me. "I've barely talked to him since the summer. Hey, you guys hang out sometimes with the blond, maybe you could see what's up with him" she suggests hopefully.

"Do I give off some weird problem solving vibe or something?" I ask her in annoyance, remembering Hugo's earlier request.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind" I tell her. "And the blond has a name you know."

"So You've mentioned" she says." But I still refuse to call him that. Dude needs a nickname. Hey, what's his middle name?" she asks.

"You don't want to know" I tell her with certainty.


	4. Chapter 4: Pictures on the wall

An old drawing hangs on the wall of my father's study, shapes formed by a childish but confident hand, lines and shadows faded by fingerprints and time, yet the four animals depicted still stare out from the parchment unwaveringly and contented, lounging in the shadows of a great tree, as frozen in that moment as they were on the day I put them there so many years ago.

My sketchbooks are full of faces, of those I know, those I pass and those that I have never met. They come alive for me on paper; the red headed girl glancing over her shoulder with a smile that lights up her almond shaped eyes, the old man with the silvery beard and an undying sparkle behind his half moon spectacles. And if you open it at the front you'll find a spiky haired young woman clutching a gleeful infant protectively. Farther in, Teddy has the same look on his face, arms wrapped around Victoire, their hands resting on her swollen belly. I'll give him both when the baby is born.

Now, i've never met Lily Evans or the marauders. I wasn't alive to know Albus Dumbledore or Nymphadora Tonks, but I can feel them, and hear them, and see them, and I can put them down on paper as easily as I sketch my mother or my brothers or my friends, as though they are right there in front of me, as though I share memories with someone who knew them all. Sometimes I catch my father in my room in the summer, one of my books open in his lap, pouring over everything I've done in the past ten months. He smiles, pointing out Hugo, Lorcan and Lysander, my brother catching the snitch, Rose sitting by the fire, anyone who is still with us. He never mentions the young couple who dance endlessly within the confines of their page, or that a younger George doesn't stand alone or with Angelina, but has one arm thrown around the shoulders of an identical looking man with a matching evil grin. He doesn't comment on the dark haired teenager who rides a motorcycle through the sky, the wizards who wear dark masks, the pointy eared house elf nor the snowy owl who flies framed by the moon and each time I fill a book I send it to him and I see them lined up on his bookshelf next to our photos albums and the one Hagrid gave him when he was eleven years old.


	5. Chapter 5: Problem solving

"I don't need your help" I tell him impatiently. "I'm fine."

Scorpius scowls and glares over my shoulder at the other Gryffindors who are waiting for us on the quidditch pitch.

"You take Hugo's help" he says, "and your brothers."

I shake my head and shift my broomstick from hand to hand. "That's different."

"How is that different?" he demands in confusion. It's a reasonable question.

"Because they give me help" I sigh. "You just want to solve it for me."


	6. Chapter 6: Examples

The motorbike is parked outside Weasley Wizard Wheezes when I get to the village and despite the crowds of students I discover fairly quickly from my cousin Molly who is rushing between customers in a manic state that he had dropped in and left some time before. I wish her luck, denying the invitation to stay and make a few extra galleons, then step out the door, taking deep breaths of fresh air as I free myself from the crowd.

I don't bother looking for him. My brother has never been very difficult for me to find, and it's a matter of minutes before I make to pass by the Hogshead only to be greeted by a crowd of panicked younger students as they pour from the pub. This in itself doesn't particularly bother me(there's a reason I wasn't made a prefect) but I know that it can never hurt to assume that wherever there is chaos you are likely to find James Potter nearby. If you ask me, he was the one who inherited my father's inherent magnetism to trouble though he tends to go looking for it. I steel myself and push my way into the dark and rather grubby but familiar pub, sensing the instant change in atmosphere as my eyes adjust to the dimness and I see James face to face with a rather oversized seventh year Slytherin and his cronies.

"What do you think you're going to do Potter?" my brother's large opponent laughs, towering over him. He uses his wand to prod James in the chest and I flinch, knowing this is not a good move, which of course is hardly surprising, for the size of the Slytherin boys could never make up for their lack of brains, nor my brother's dueling skills and agility. And he doesn't need a wand to win a fight either. I can't calculate the amount of time my father and Teddy have spent trying to convince my brother to become an auror, though it seems that his need for excitement and conflict could never be fulfilled even by a job like that.

"There are six of us and only one of you" the Slytherin boy, who I'm sure is named Hobbs, or Drake or something like that adds when my brother says nothing, simply staring down at the wand that dares to touch him.

"Then get some more guys and it'll be a fair fight!" James replies cooly with something that is closer to amusement than anything.

They all have their wands drawn now but as I'm quite accustomed to scenes like this one( my brother's idea of fun), I can't help but think that if either of them were to stick out his tongue he could lick the other's face. To be honest, the scene before me is a delightful mixture of hostility, rage, and age old animosity, and it should cheer me up immensely, but with everything I have going on lately I'm not exactly in the mood for that kind of good cheer. I finger my own wand in anticipation nonetheless, knowing full well that James wouldn't want me in on his fight, it's just hard to resist such an open opportunity for some good old fashioned dueling.

But the escalating tension doesn't last long. I'm not the only one to look around at the sound of footsteps on the stairs above and a moment later Aberforth appears, humming tunelessly to himself, the sound dying as he enters the pub itself and takes a look at what is happening.

"Oi" He says furiously, ignoring the electricity in the air and not looking overly concerned as though things like this happen in his pub everday( come to think of it they probably do), "You lot've chased away all my paying customers. You can leave. Now" he adds, drawing his own wand when no one moves. Finally, with dark looks exchanged the Slytherins begin to move away, shoving past James, muttering threats and promises under their breath that my brother ignores. They move past me and are gone.

"Potter, thought I'd be done with your trouble once you'd left school" Aberforth scolds conversationally, returning his wand to his pocket as the last of the seventh years disappear, slamming the door behind them. "Your parents proud that you're still hanging out in the village picking fights with students from the school? They happy about the reputation your bound to get if you keep this up? What's got your wand in a knot anyway? You lot have it easy." I bite back my own reply, instead saying nothing.

James merely grunts, returning to the seat he had clearly vacated at the bar, where a half empty glass of firewhiskey sits waiting for him. Aberforth tops it off for him and pulls out a butterbeer, gesturing for me to come forward from the observatory position where I lean against an empty table.

"What kind of example you setting for your sister here?"

James looks around, surprised, not having noticed me, but snorts with laughter at the question.

"No one sets an example for Lily, she does whatever the hell she wants" James says, almost proudly, taking a swig from his glass and returning to the previous subject. "You really think being a Potter is so grand? Trust me, it ain't all fame and fortune. We spend half our time shaking off weirdos and the other half looking over our shoulders for Mr. Death Eater who lives at 123 Dreary Road with a closet full of long sleeves and a chip on his shoulder. My parents can think what they like. You try being a Potter, see how you like it." Usually quite cheerful, I decide that my brother is probably drunk and wonder just how many times Aberforth has filled his glass for him.

"Oho" Aberforth laughs with a shake of his head. "You've got no sympathy here boy. In case you've forgotten, I happen to be a Dumbledore. Expectations is something I understand, and failing them is something I've mastered. But I've seen plenty of kids come through here over the past fifty or so years. I knew your great grandparents, all of your grandparents, your parents, your aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, god parents and extended family, so trust me when I tell you that you have what it takes Potter, so don't waste it, and don't screw it up. You tell him" he adds to me, but I just shrug and take a swig of my butterbeer.

"Geez" Albus' voice says at my shoulder, making us all jump "Are you lot ever depressing. Some happy little family reunion this is" He says, clapping James on the shoulder by way of greeting and taking a seat on his other side. I notice that people have begun to trickle back in, returning to their tables and drinks shiftily, shooting sharp glances at James.

"Give us a whiskey, would you Aberforth?" Albus says charmingly, earning a suspicious glare from the barkeeper.

"You of age?" he demands, eyes narrowed.

"Course I am" Albus says, "Just turned" he says with a smile." Like it matters" he adds under his breath as he accepts the drink.

Conversation quickly turns to Quidditch, a love for which we all share, and Aberforth drifts away from the bar to serve drinks and stale peanuts to his other customers. Still, James seems strange and more distant than usual, though when I try to figure out what's going on with him he shuts me down quickly, forcing me to be satisfied with shooting questioning glances at Albus when he isn't looking.


End file.
